I routinely ask people I meet here in Vanuatu “What is it about Vanuatu that makes you want to stay here?” I get many different replies, but a common theme in almost all the answers is “Freedom” and they go on to give some illustration of the freedeom they mean.
Sometimes to live the life they choose without interference, sometimes to build a house without massive beaurocracy in the way, one person answered “In Vanuatu I am free to think how I want to think”
Surely the last 18 months have made it plain to all how vital a resilient Plan B has become. And for those who value their freedom, a second residency or citizenship is fundamental.
I know that many “out there” in the world outside Vanuatu feel they need a clear, simple path to second citizenship and an alternative passport…
Because a second residency — and ideally a second passport — is imperative in 2021.
Our world has become a very precarious place. Covid-1984 has ripped away movement and fiscal freedoms, and socio-political turmoil has blazed up around the planet.
From one day to the next, we went from “business as usual,” to a time defined by overwhelming lockdowns, mask mandates, closed borders, and even attempted uprisings in South Africa and America.
In this period, possession of a second residency or citizenship would have meant being able to cross borders when regular travellers were prevented from doing so. It would have meant avoiding being separated from friends and family for months or even years at a time.
And… It would have meant having a second welcoming country to flee to and sit out the pandemonium somewhere more rational…
A Plan B is like insurance: You hope you never need it, but when you do, how glad you are to have gone through the effort in advance to set it up.
My work helping people to have a viable Plan B that includes residency or citizenship in this tropical south seas paradise is a joy to me. I know I am helping people to have peace of mind – making a real difference in their lives and that of their family.
Lance in (sane) Vanuatu
